1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to detecting the presence of distant objects, and, more particularly, to detecting the presence of distant objects from a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a major problem with vehicles not being able to detect objects in the road more than about a few meters away in inclement weather such as fog, rain and other conditions of low visibility. Accordingly, the vehicles are not able to provide the driver with early warning about objects in the road more than a few meters away in inclement weather. There are currently mid-infrared (MIR) range cameras that are unique and that I have determined which can penetrate fog, and smoke; however, these known devices are good for detecting objects only less than one kilometer away due to the limitations of mid-infrared light emitting diodes (LEDs). Infrared (IR) systems for vehicles do not have the ability to penetrate inclement weather such as fog and heavy rain; however, IR systems do have night vision capability.
It is also known to use radar systems within a vehicle to detect distant objects. A problem; however, is that radar systems have limited range and no visual image capability. Microwave frequencies of approximately 20 GHz, 60 GHz and 120 GHz are attenuated by water molecules around of those frequencies. Current vehicle microwave early warning systems use around 24 GHz and 73 GHz and thus cannot warn vehicle drivers in heavy fog, smoke or rain of a potential collision, until it is too late.